Why some say the date 11/11/11 is special

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Some say Nov. 11, 2011, holds special significance because the date can also be written 11/11/11, but a U.S. researcher says it has no "mystical significance."

Nov. 11 has been designated Veterans Day since Nov. 11, 1919, because it was the date when major hostilities of World War I formally ended -- at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

However, the date 11/11/11 has sparked interest among many who say a group of higher beings -- some say angels -- used it to bring themselves into human awareness. Others think the date is just plain lucky.

Tiffany Masters of Las Vegas said she is giving the world's largest wedding reception Friday, not for herself, but for some of the 75,000 weddings scheduled for the date in the United States that will occur in Sin City, Las Vegas Weekly reported.

Eric Carlson, a physics professor at Wake Forest University, who looks into numerology as a hobby, said people are drawn to the dates such as Oct. 10, 2010, which is designated 10/10/10, because the human brain looks for repetition.

"Our brains are just pattern matching machines, so we tend to notice patterns like that," Carlson said in a statement. "If you happen to glance at the clock and it's 11:11, you will remember that -- these patterns stick in our minds. But I don't think there is any mystical significance to it."

Carlson said society is dominated by numbers -- PINS, phone numbers, passwords and other numbers -- that might make people more interested in numbers, but when it comes to luck, it's more personal.

"What one person calls a lucky number might be an unlucky number for someone else. Take the number 13 -- some people say it's an unlucky number because 13 was the number of people present at the Last Supper before Jesus' death," Carlson said. "On the other hand, if you get a baker's dozen -- 13 -- you consider it a good deal."

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